In a silver halide photographic material, a photographic emulsion layer and the other hydrophilic colloid layers are often colored in order to absorb light of a specific wavelength range.
A coloring layer is usually provided on a support in a position over a photographic emulsion layer when it is disired to control the spectral composition of a light incident upon the photographic emulsion layer.
Such a coloring layer is called a filter layer. If more than one photographic emulsion layer is present, a filter layer may be provided between the silver halide photographic material.
In order to prevent image fuzziness, that is, halation, an anti-halation layer may be provided in the silver halide photographic material. Halation is caused by light which is scattered in or after passing through a photographic emulsion layer, is reflected on the interface between the emulsion layer and support or a surface of a support opposite to the emulsion layer, and gets once again in the photographic emulsion layer. If more than one photographic emulsion layer is present in the silver halide photographic material, an anti-halation layer may be provided between silver halide emulsion layers.
A photographic emulsion layer may be colored in order to prevent deterioration of image sharpness (in general, this phenomenon is called irradiation) caused by scattering of light in the photographic emulsion layer.
Dyes are usually incorporated into these hydrophilic colloid layers for this purpose. These dyes must satisfy the following conditions:
(1) have an appropriate spectral absorption according to the particular application of the silver halide photographic material; PA1 (2) be photochemically inactive, that is, exert no adverse chemical affects such sensitivity reduction, latent image degradation and fogging, on the silver halide photographic layer; PA1 (3) be capable of being bleached during photographic processing or be capable of being eluted in a processing solution or rinsing water and leave no harmful residual color on a processed photographic material; PA1 (4) not be diffused from a colored layer to another layer or layers; and PA1 (5) have excellent aging stability in solution or in a photographic material, that is, not be discolored and faded.
In particular, when the coloring layer is a filter layer or an anti-halation layer which is provided on the same side of a support as a photographic emulsion layer, in many cases it is necessary that those layers be selectively colored and that the other layers be substantially not colored. This is done in order to prevent a harmful spectral effect from being exerted on the other layers, and in order to not reduce the effectiveness of the filter or anti-halation layer. In order to prevent irradiation, only the emulsion layer may be colored, or else the problems discussed above arise. However, when the dye-containing layer is wet and contacts other hydrophilic layers, part of the dye diffusing from the dye-containing layer to the other layers. Many efforts have been made to prevent such dye diffusion.
For example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,548,564, 4,124,386 and 3,625,694 teach methods wherein a hydrophilic polymer having a charge opposite to a dissociated anionic dye is used as a mordant in a layer in order to localize the dye in a specific layer by means of a molecular interaction with the dye.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,719,088, 2,496,841, and 2,496,843, and JP-A-60-45237 (the term "JP-A"as used herein means an unexamined published Japanese patent application) teach methods wherein a specific layer is colored using metal salt fine particles adsorbed thereon with a dye. A specific layer may be colored by a water insoluble solid dye as disclosed in JP-A-55-120030, JP-A-56-12639, JP-A-55-155350, JP-A-55--155351, JP-A-63-27838, JP-A-63-197943, and JP-A-52-92716, European Patents 15,601, 323,729, 274,723, 276,566 and 299,435, and International Patent 88/04794.
However, there persists the problem of dye diffusion of a dye from a dye-fixed layer, and the problem that de-coloring speed during development processing is not satisfactory especially in view of recent advances in development processing speed, processing solution compositions and photographic emulsion compositions.